No, my keyboard isn’t broken—and no, I’m not beginning this post by describing a bowl of alphabet soup.
Toastmasters International is, at its heart, an educational organization. Like all educational organizations, we exist to foster growth and development—in Toastmasters’ case, as communicators and leaders.
What makes our organization different from many other educational organizations is that, rather than droning on and on about the same principles you can learn in any college-level communication class, we embrace participatory learning.
Anyone can listen to an expert give a lecture. When you leave the lecture hall, however, you may never again think about what you just heard. At a Toastmasters meeting, however, you will learn not only by listening, but also by doing—and the lessons you learn will be for a lifetime.
Toastmasters International offers more than just a warm, fuzzy feeling of unspecified accomplishment, however. We also offer concrete recognition, in the form of numerous awards that you are eligible to achieve.
I work in higher education, which means that describing Toastmasters as a metaphor for the campus experience comes naturally to me.
Think about a Toastmasters club as a very tiny school. “Toastmasters U.” offers only two “majors”: communication and leadership. The “students,” in this case, are the members, who pay “tuition,” or dues. Club officers fill the role of “faculty” and “staff,” taking on challenging tasks and heavy responsibilities because of the reward they perceive in helping other people grow.
When you join a Toastmasters club, you receive two manuals: Competent Communication and Competent Leadership. Each manual contains 10 projects. Like in high school, to complete all 10 projects, all you really need to do is show up! (And if you’re giving a speech at the next meeting, maybe you have to do just a little bit of homework). Complete 10 projects, or “earn” 10 “credits,” and Toastmasters International gives you a “Competent Communicator” or “Competent Leader” award—giving you a certificate to hang on the wall, and some letters that we place after your name. From now on, you’re “John Doe, CC,” or “John Doe, CL.” If you want, you can “double-major,” completing both manuals simultaneously, in which case you would be “John Doe, CC, CL.”
The awards only begin there, however. Each manual in the Advanced Communication series contains five projects, and if you complete two of those manuals, you’ll receive the “Advanced Communicator Bronze” award and the post-nominal “ACB” abbreviation (think: “bachelor’s degree). Completing two more manuals, as well as two presentations from The Better Speaker Series or The Successful Club Series, earns you an “Advanced Communicator Silver” award, making you an “ACS”—the Toastmasters equivalent of a master’s degree. If you persevere, completing two more manuals, presenting a special seminar in communication or leadership, and coaching a new member through his first three speeches, we’ll give you our version of a post-master’s certificate: the “Advanced Communicator Gold,” or “ACG.”
For members more interested in polishing their leadership skills, serving six months as a club officer, attending district-sponsored club officer training, helping prepare your club’s annual Club Success Plan, and making two presentations from The Better Speaker Series or The Successful Club Series will earn you an “Advanced Leader Bronze” award, or “ALB.” If you really want to grow as a leader, you can serve as a district officer, help start or save a Toastmasters club, and complete the High Performance Leadership program. Do these things, and you’ll be recognized as an “Advanced Leader Silver,” or “ALS.”
Finally, when you’ve earned your “ACG” and your “ALS,” you’ll receive the highest honor our organization bestows: recognition as a “DTM,” or “Distinguished Toastmaster.” Continuing the higher education metaphor, I like to think this award as the “doctorate in Toastmastering.” It’s tough to earn, but well worth the effort, because earning this award shows that you have made the biggest and most noteworthy contributions possible to our organization—helping not only to grow yourself as a communicator and leader, but also helping to grow others.
The final abbreviation from the opening paragraph, “AS,” stands for “Accredited Speaker.” If you have experience as a professional speaker, and you’re willing to submit yourself for evaluation by some of the finest orators in the world, you can be given this immense honor as a testament to the breadth and depth of your talent.
Toastmasters International works when we each participate. What’s great is that our participation is rewarded in so many ways. There are tangible symbols of our accomplishments that we can hang on the wall. There are post-nominal abbreviations that we use within the Toastmasters community to recognize members for their accomplishments. Most importantly, there is the ever-present opportunity to learn from each other, to take charge of our own growth and our own development, and to become the best possible versions of ourselves.
If you want to get it on the action, visit your local Toastmasters club! By going to http://www.toastmasters.org, you can find a club in your area. I can speak for every Toastmaster, everywhere, when I say that we would love to see you at our next meeting. By all means, come, and join us on a journey of leading—and learning—together.
Joseph L. Chambers, CC, ALB
Area 63 Governor, TI District 40
President, Toastmasters Beckley
Area 63 Governor, TI District 40
President, Toastmasters Beckley
No comments:
Post a Comment